Umbrella rib



July 17, 1951 J. BUONO UMBRELLA RIB Filed Aug. 26, 1949 Fig.1. 6 7a INVENTOR. Jbsepk ,Buono Patented July 17, 1951 H ,UN'ITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE Joseph Buono, New York, N. Y.

Application August 26, 1949, Serial No. 112,455

This: invention relates to umbrella ribs, and particularly'to those employed in collapsible or so-called folding umbrellas.

An object of the presentinvention is to provide a means for hinging or coupling the two sections of the ribs together by means of which a strong and wholly satisfactory pivotal connection is attained. The invention contemplates the formation of a loop or eye in one' of the rib sections without requiring the flattening and piercing operation heretofore described. It contemplates the provision of a loop or eye formed by rolling or curling the end portion of the rib section in a manner resulting in the production of a strong loop or eye, yet one which will be of relatively small outside diameter; which will be smooth and free from roughness or irregularities likely to damage the fabric covering and which can be produced at a minimum of manufacturing and fabricating cost.

These and other objects are attained by the invention, a more particular description of which will hereinafter appear and be set forth in the claim appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed, Fig. l is a side elevation of a pivot joint constructed in accordance with the invention and as employed in folding or collapsible umbrellas; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same;

Fig, 3 is a side elevation of the end portion of the pivotal rib section before the same is formed with a loop or eye in its end; Fig. 4 shows the end of the rib section rolled to form the eye; Fig. 5 is a sectional view, taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows, and Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the structure of Fig. 4.

In the drawing, I indicates one of the rib sections, or that which has one end normally pivotally attached adjacent to the top of the umbrella stick. Its opposite end, or that shown at 5 is permanently and fixedly secured in the tubular or sleeve portion 4 of a channel-shaped connector or coupling 3, as by having this portion of the connector crimped or otherwise distorted around the end of the rib section I to securely attach it thereto. The movable or pivotal section of the rib, which is the outer section thereof, is shown at 2. This section has its inner end formed with a loop or eye 10, to be presently described, and which extends around a pin or rivet 8 located between the side walls or flanges 5 and l of the connector, thus pivotally attaching the rib section 2 to the section I by means of the connector or coupling 3.

Provided on the end of the connector or coupling 3 is a ball-shaped tip-9 that is. generally engaged by the handle of the umbrella while the umbrella is in a closed and folded position.

The manner in which the loop or eye I0 is formed at the end of the rib section 2, will be readily apparent from Figs. 3 to 6 inclusive. It will be therein noted that at its end, the rib section 2, which is preferably composed of round metal rod or so-called piano-wire, is formed with a reduced-diameter portion II, resulting in the formation of the shoulder I2. This reduceddiameter part is of half-round cross-sectional shape and the loop or eye I0 is formed by rolling or curling up this reduced-diameter half-round portion H, bringing in the rounded surface [4 of the free end l3 of the half round against the shoulder i2, as clearly seen in Fig. 4. Thus, while the body and major portion of the rib section 2 is round and of substantial diameter, the portion from which the loop 10 is formed is substantially half-round and of considerably reduced diameter, and probably of a diameter about one-half that of the body of the rib section. The loop or eye [0 thus produced is of suflicient strength to stand the use to which it is applied, and at the same time it is maintained in relatively small outside diameter due to the small-diameter portion ll of the rib from which it is formed. Hence, when the loop is pivotally supported upon the pivot pin 10 in the manner clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, it presents no material protrusion out of the connector or coupling 3 and therefore does not cause unusual prctuberances to appear beneath the fabric covering of the umbrella when the umbrella is opened. Also in the production of the loop or eye 3, the rounded surface of the rib is presented outermost in the loop and thus the accidental formation of sharp edges, as occurs in the formation of an eye by flattening and piercing operations on the rib, is completely avoided. It will be observed that when the loop 10 is formed, the end of the half-round part of the rib which forms said loop is located close to and behind the shoulder l2 so that said end is thus protected by the shoulder and a sharp edge on said end likely to tear the umbrella cover is thus positioned in a protected manner and prevented from damaging the umbrella covering.

While I have herein shown a rib section proviced with a loop for engagement with a coupling by which it is connected to another rib section, it will be apparent that a loop or eye, formed as herein described, might be used to advantage in other locations in the umbrella.

For example, the upper and lower pivotal connections of all of the ribs to the top ring and runner of the umbrella might be provided with loops or eyes constructed as herein described, or the rib brace members might be provided at one or both ends with these eyes, or the same might be used at such other places in the construction of the umbrella as shall seem advantageous.

Having described one embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that the same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough to cover all structures coming within the scope of the annexed claim.

What I claim is:

In an umbrella, a rib composed of round wire and having an end portion of half-round crosssectional shape, a shoulder being formed at the junction of the round and half-round parts of the rib, the half-round section being curled into a loop, the free end of said half-round section being positioned adjacent to and behind the shoulder, with the rounded surface of the half- 4 round section abutting said shoulder to prevent the shoulder from contacting with the umbrella covering extending over the rib.

JOSEPH BUONO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 176,473 Liller Apr. 25, 1876 244,545 Carter July 19, 1881 929,498 Rose July 27, 1909 2,221,288 Okun Nov. 12, 1940 2,477,780 Armstrong Aug. 2, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 410 Great Britain Feb. 3, 1875 302,964 Italy Nov. 14, 1932 492,531

France Mar. 24, 1919 

